ZoomSafer Launches Android Beta at CES, Forces Safer Driving

ZoomSafer is a mobile app that disables e-mail and SMS apps on your smartphone, locks your screen, and only allows you to interact with your phone if you have an incoming call. The company launched their Android beta today at CES.

If you don't trust yourself to not check your e-mail while you're driving, or you have kids with smartphones that you don't want texting while behind the wheel, ZoomSafer is a mobile app that's perfect for you. The app disables e-mail and SMS apps on your smartphone, locks your screen, and only allows you to interact with your phone if you have an incoming call. The app supports Bluetooth and speakerphone for incoming calls, and any incoming text messages and e-mails are suppressed so you don't even know they're there. The app can even auto-respond on your behalf.

ZoomSafer offers its technology to individuals and enterprises in multiple forms, including the user-oriented "MobileSafer" suite and the enterprise-focused "FleetSafer" service. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week, ZoomSafer unveiled new support for Android devices, opening it up a beta program to Android users interested in trying the safe driving service.

ZoomSafer's mobile apps currently support BlackBerry and Windows Mobile (not Windows Phone 7,) and the service is generally offered as a subscription that ranges in price depending on the number of mobile devices you want the app to control and how long you want to use the service. Individual plans for individuals and small groups start at $25/year or $2.99/month. ZoomSafer offers a free 7-day trial so you can see if the app is useful for you or your family.

The service has two parts: a client app that lives on your mobile phone, and a management dashboard that you can use to control its features, like the auto-response messages that people who e-mail or text you get when the app intercepts their message. The mobile app uses your phone's hardware to tell when you're driving and when you've arrived at your destination - not through your phone's accelerometer, like many similar apps, but by detecting when the device connects to your car's in-vehicle Bluetooth speakers, stereo, or headset.

If your car doesn't have Bluetooth devices in it, the service will even sell you a Bluetooth-equipped car charger that can be used with the app. Once your phone pairs with the Bluetooth device in question, it automatically launches the ZoomSafer app and switches your phone to safe driving mode, which locks the screen and ensures you're not distracted while driving. When you get to your destination and leave the car, as soon as the Bluetooth device is out of range, your phone returns to normal.

Admittedly, determined people can likely find ways around the app by force closing it, disabling it, or turning off the Bluetooth device the app uses to determine that you're in your car. Still, for most people, the hassle of doing so is enough to discourage them from dangerous driving habits. The service is available now for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices, and ZoomSafer is taking signups for the Android beta at its Web site.